The crash of 2003

When, in the autumn of 2002, president Chirac tried to renegotiate the Maastricht Treaty, the future of the euro began to look shaky. Then the big hedge funds moved in for the kill and monetary union had little chance of survival. David Lascelles writes the history book in advance.

Life under the euro

Traders on the European government bond desk at Riegel Sprint have won record bonuses after the spectacular success of their Emu shorting operation during last month’s Great Euro Collapse. Herb Cassell, head of fixed income at the Anglo-US investment house, says: “The boys did a great job.”

Gauloise-puffing Cassell refuses to be drawn on the precise figures ahead of the firm’s first-quarter 2003 results. But rival houses estimate that Riegel Sprint profited to the tune of over $500 million by short-selling French treasury Oats and their Italian and Spanish equivalents ahead of last month’s catastrophic EU summit, which led to the break-up of Emu.

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